Shia, Sunni volunteers kills over 140 ISIL terrorists across Iraq

More than 140 terrorists of the Takfiri ISIL group have reportedly been killed in the fresh operations launched by the Iraqi army troops, backed by Shia and Sunni volunteers, in various areas.

A statement issued by Iraq’s Defense Ministry said 45 ISIL terrorists were killed in heavy clashes with the Iraqi forces in an area some 40 kilometers west of the capital Baghdad.

Meanwhile, 38 extremist militants were killed in Salahuddin Province and four in the province of Nineveh, the statement said.

Iraqi forces also arrested 90 Takfiri militants in Salahuddin.

No reference has been made to the death toll among Iraqi forces in the reports.

Elsewhere in Anbar Province, Iraqi army units killed at least 16 ISIL terrorists in the Abu-Shehab neighborhood of the provincial capital Ramadi, 18 in the al-Kurma region and 20 others in the al-Qa’im area.

In another incident late on Thursday, two separate car bombs went off at the parking lots of two hotels in the Iraqi capital, leaving 15 people dead and more than 42 others wounded.

No group or individual has so far claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks.

The latest developments come as the Iraqi army, along with volunteer forces, has stepped up its fight against Takfiri terrorists across the country, especially in the provinces of Anbar and Salahuddin.

During the past few days, Iraqi forces have managed to retake some areas in the two provinces from ISIL extremists, inflicting heavy losses on them.

Iraq has witnessed a spike in violence since the ISIL terror group launched a terror campaign in the north and west of the Arab country in June 2014.